The Prince and the Pauper
by Inspiration25
Summary: Jackson moves to Starling City, expecting it to be boring. But then he meets his doppelganger, Roy Harper. The two switch places just for a laugh until things start to turn serious and the two find themselves in a sticky situation.
1. Chapter 1

"Starling City? Seriously? That's where we're moving now?" Jackson scoffed. "What, London isn't good enough for dad? Not enough business here? He was doing just fine in Beacon Hills-"

"Sweetie, you have to understand something. Your father's business is relocating to Starling City and he's been offered a position that he can't refuse. He's already said yes."

Jackson closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, trying to control the wolf side of him. Once it was calm, he looked his mother in the eye. "Fine. But I won't like it there. I didn't like it here either. I want to go home. To Beacon Hills."

His mother sighed, and it was her turn to close her eyes. "I know you miss Lydia, sweetie. And all of your other friends. But there's no business in Beacon Hills. Everyone is leaving because of these odd animal attacks that's been going on for over a year. Everyone is scared." This made Jackson grin, but his mother didn't see his smirk. "I'm sure you'll make some new friends at your new school. You're a likeable young man. Charming, intelligent, oh and can't forget handsome!" She winked and rubbed her son's back. "Don't you worry about a thing, Jacky. You'll be fine. You're a survivor. You always have been."

Jackson couldn't disagree with her. He survived a car crash that killed both his birth parents before he was even born, arriving into the world by emergency C section from his dead mother's womb. He survived a werewolf attack. Hell, he was once a freaking homicidal lizard that killed people and poisoned them with his claws. Not to mention that he was a werewolf now. In a way, he was still surviving.

"Should I go pack then? Clean my room out for the second time in a row?"

"No need. Your father hired on some workers to pack away our belongings our flight leaves in an hour."

Jackson scoffed again. "Wow. And when were you going to tell me this? Were you just going to take me for a drive and just go to the airport and say 'Oh by the way Jacky we're moving back to America sorry for the delay in telling you'"

His mother's face went red and she looked down at the stone floor. "Jackson, I think you're overreacting-"

"You're damn right I'm overreacting! I'm tired of moving around! I'm a teenager who just wants to settle down and hang out with his friends and eat junk food and play lacrosse! I want to be normal!" _But I'm not because I'm a werewolf _

"Jackson..."

"No. I don't want to hear it. I'm going upstairs to grab the rest of my crap and get ready to go to the airport. You said we leave in an hour, right? Then let's not waste any time." He stomped upstairs without another word to his mother, but he saw the look on her face when he walked away, and his heart sank to his stomach. He hated arguing with her but he was much too upset to care.

On the plane, Jackson was tweeting Danny the situation. Danny was surprised but glad that Jackson was moving back to the US.

_ lacrosseking Starling City? Good luck there man. Heard there was some kind of manmade earhquake there. Killed 503 people_

Jackson raised an eyebrow. _ foreveragoalie Seriously? How the hell does someone make an earthquake?_

_ lacrosseking No idea. It was pretty bad though. City's doing it's best to recover. Guess your dad will be doing lots of charity work there?_

_ foreveragoalie Beats me. I'm just being strung along on their crusades as usual. I'll text you when I'm there ok? _

_ lacrosseking Cool man. Safe fliying bro. Ttyl_

Jackson looked out the window of the plane and sighed heavily. The mantra he was repeating over and over in his head was starting to sound unbelievable and was getting on his nerves. Of course he wasn't going to like it in Starling City. Especially not after what Danny had just told him. Manmade earthquake? What kind of sick person would do something like that? Jackson was pretty shallow, but not that shallow to the point where he didn't care about the lives of innocent people.

"There's the city. The huge skyscraper? That's Queen Consolidated. I'll be heading there tomorrow to make contract negotiations with their CEO," Jackson's father shook his head. "Such a shame about the Queen family. They've had a rough go of it recently."

"What do you mean?" Jackson glanced at his father. "Money problems?"

"Well, that and the fact that Mrs. Queen was a member behind the earthquake that struck the city a few months ago. She announced it over national tv. It was called The Undertaking. Basically it was a plane to rid Starling City of its outer region called the Glades. The Glades was made up of the lower class people. Bums, drug addicts, high school dropouts, you name it, they had it. The real mastermind behind The Undertaking was another billionaire, Malcolm Merlyn. He believed The Glades were a disease that needed to be destroyed. He died the night of the earthquakes, thank god. As did his only son Thomas."

Jackson scoffed. "He got what was coming to him anyway. A person like that doesn't deserve to live."

His father glanced at him through his glasses. "Yes, but who are we to play God? We don't decide who gets to live and who gets to die. Unfortunately, Starling City has its own Angel of Death called The Vigilante. Or The Hood, as some people call him. He's been killing those who were suspected to be behind The Undertaking and were stealing money from other people. Some consider him to be a hero. Others, a murderer."

"Huh. You really know how to pick where we live, don't you?" Jackson pulled his headphones over his ears before his father could answer, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of Lydia singing on a mixtape she made for him ages ago.

On the ride to their new house in the limo, Jackson watched the signs plastered on run down houses that looked like they've seen better days. "Blood for Mayor" "Death to the Queens" "RIP Glades" were some of the signs that he noticed, along with people scouring the sides of the road, standing next to firepits while trying to warm themselves up in the cold.

"Dad. Dad, tell the driver to stop here. I want to walk," Jackson shook his father awake. "I want to walk, dad."

"You want to walk _here_? With all these strange people out and about? You don't know what they'll do to you, sweetie..." His mother cringed as an old man got too close to the limo and stared into the window. He had to teeth and was covered in dirt and grime from the streets.

"Fine. Drop me off up there where all those lights are flashing."

His father shook his head. "You don't even know where we live yet, Jackson. How are you supposed to know where to go when you want to come home?"

"We live in an age of technology, dad. It's called texting. Now may I please get out here?" Jackson asked, sarcasm thick in his voice.

His father nodded. "Driver? Please stop here. My son wants to get out and walk."

"As you wish, Mr. Whittemore." The car pulled over and Jackson climbed out, quickly shutting the door behind him and taking in a breath of semi fresh air. The moon hung overhead, not full, thank god, and it lit up the block around him. From where he stood, he could hear laughter and music thumping from somewhere in the distance. Not even giving the limo a second glance, he followed the sounds.

Not surprisingly, it led him to a club...a really big club. People were stumbling out of it with huge smiles on their faces and drinks in their hand whereas there were even more people lined up outside waiting to get in. Must have been exclusive.

"You! You're late!" A huge African American boomed at Jackson. "Thea's looking for you. She's angry as hell."

"Wait, what? Thea?" He was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and shoved inside the club. Music roared in his eyes, nearly deafening his sensitive hearing. People shoved past him, drunk of course, but he apologized anyway and followed the flow of the crowd. There was a live dj playing house music, bartenders doing weird yet interesting tricks with the glasses they were serving with, and a balcony above his head filled with people. Also, the strobe lights were giving him a headache.

"There you are!" A voice shouted over the music. Jackson felt his bicep being grabbed and he was whipped around to face a very pretty girl, about his age or so, with shoulder length wavy hair and greenish-brownish eyes. She glared at him with such ferocity that Jackson actually had to take a step back in case she lashed out at him.

"Um...hi?" He said.

"Where the hell were you? You're late for work! And why are you wearing such...fancy clothes? I've never seen you wear John Varvatos before..."

Jackson laughed. "Look, lady...I don't know who you are or why you're pissed at me. I just moved here-"

"Look, I'm not in the mood for your jokes right now, okay? Go get your uniform on and get to work already before I fire your ass!"

"But I don't-" Jackson was pushed into a room that read "Staff Only" on the door, and nearly crashed into a man holding drinks. He apologized again and made a dash for the back door, getting weird looks from the men and women that were in the room. Naturally, he didn't care. She had obviously mistaken him for someone else.

"Hey, pretty boy. We aren't quite finished with what we started the other night. Where's our liquor? You promised us beer-"

"Look, buddy. I don't know who you and your little friends are. I don't work here. I just moved here from London, okay? My parents have money. They'll buy you whatever beer you need-"

Something silver flashed under the streetlights and Jackson dodged the knife that slashed at his face. Luckily he had inhuman reflexes or else his money maker would have been ruined. He ducked again as his attacker tried to make a move at him. He could feel the wolf inside him trying to break free, but he tried to calm it down.

"I'll cut you up into little slice kid, if you don't give us the damn beer!" The man shouted. He froze as he watched Jackson bend over and begin to breathe heavily. "What the hell is wrong with you, punk?"

Jackson felt a rumble rise out of his throat and felt his eyes shift. "You really don't want to get on my bad side..." He looked up and growled, causing the thug to back away in fear. He then lunged at Jackson, acting in fear and not anger, but Jackson was much too quick. Faster than the thug could even blink, he was thrown across the pavement, blood oozing from his lip and nose, ubt that didn't stop Jackson from advancing towards him once again.

"Hey! What the hell is going on down there?" A male voice rang out. Jackson turned only to see a red hoodie race by him and saw the hooded figure flip over a garbage can as it was thrown at him. A few grunts and sounds of punches filled the alley, and soon the thugs were running in the opposite direction, yelling and holding their faces in pain.

"Dude, you okay? You look like you were about to get the crap beat out of you..." The hooded figure chuckled. "Hey. You alright?"

Jackson breathed in deeply and settled the wolf inside him. Once his heartbeat was steady, he nodded and turned to face the hooded person. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm cool. What about you? That was some pretty cool stunts you did-"

"Holy...crap..." The hooded male whispered. "This is impossible...it can't be..." Jackson's heart leaped into his throat. Were his eyes still blue? Were his canines still long? Claws out?

"What's wrong?" Jackson asked.

"You..." The stranger stepped into the light and pulled down his hood, and Jackson couldn't help but stare in shock. The boy whose hood had hidden his face looked EXACTLY like him. Same color eyes, same nose, same jawline. Everything.

"How is this even possible?" The other teen asked. He reached out to poke Jackson, but Jackson backed away. "I'm not going to bite you, you know."

_But I might_ Jackson thought to himself. "I...have to go. I'm sorry. Thanks for helping me with those thugs." He turned before the other boy could say another word, and ran home.


	2. Chapter 2

Roy wiped the blood off his arm and wrapped a bandage around it before stepping out into the small living room to meet Thea. She had been complaining for the past twenty minutes about him being late for work and how it wasn't "very professional" to future employers. She babbled like this all the time. He mostly ignored her for the sake of his sanity, but every now and then he'll tune into what she was saying.

"Are you even listening to me? Roy, you were seriously late today. I had to tell Marty to keep an eye out for you even though he had his plate full enough as it is!" Thea huffed.

"What do you mean, late? I was there the whole time. I had to make a run to the grocery store real quick because the kitchen ran out of dish detergent. Unless you wanted to take home a load of dishes to do on your own time in your own kitchen." When she didn't reply, he smirked. "Thought so. You're working yourself too hard, baby. You need a break."

"I do. I really do. Between visiting my mom in prison and Verdante and Queen Consolidated under watchful eye of practically the whole world, I don't have time to myself anymore. Like in 4 hours I have to meet with my mom and her lawyer. Four hour sleep. That's all I get."

Roy sat next to her on the couch and gently pulled her towards him. "I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. You've had a crappy few months..." He kissed the top of her head.

"Crappy is an understatement. I can barely focus on anything anymore. Everything is just moving too fast for me. And my brother...he's hardly ever around anyway. Either he's at the office or wherever he runs off to at night. Probably partying or something."

Roy sighed, playing with Thea's fingers. "Well, I think you're handling things pretty well. If I was in your position, I would've crumbled and ran away from it all. I'm pathetic."

"No. No, don't say that. Roy, you're brave. Brave enough to be dating me, for one." She laughed at this. "You're incredible. Just take out the fact that you voluntarily go searching for crime and try to stop it, and you're husband material."

"Are you implying that you want to marry me? Thea Queen, I'm in shock!" He grinned as she giggled and hid her face behind her hands. "You're so cute when you giggle. You're like a little kid."

"Oh shut up, Harper. Or I'll knock your teeth out. I'm not all giggles and smiles, you know. I can be tough when I want to be."

Roy smiled. "You'll be the first one I call when I'm being mugged by adorable kittens." This earned him a playful shove. "Hey! I'm kidding! Geez, no need to go all rough on me."

"But you like it rough," Thea whispered into his ear, and his entire body froze and grew hot. "Oh, don't act so shocked, Harper. I know you're kinky."

"I...uh..." Roy closed his eyes, letting out a small moan as Thea kissed his neck. "God, Thea you're hot..."

"So I've been told," she kissed him again, ever slower, and this time he didn't hold back. He pushed her back onto the couch and allowed his hands to explore her body. She was so warm, her smooth skin flushed as he moved his long, expert fingers over her collarbones, stomach, arms and hips. She moaned, enjoying the sensations as they took over her body.

"Are you sure you can handle all of this?" Roy smirked as he kissed the area just beneath her jaw. Her response was a short gasp, so he took that as a yes. He got up on his knees and grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. He instantly felt Thea's hands run over his abs and he grinned.

"Roy..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "We really shouldn't be doing this. I need some sleep before meeting with my mom later."

"Shh...we'll be quick, okay? Like a robbery. In and out."

"You're disgusting," Thea laughed and shoved him off of her. "I'm serious, Roy. I need to sleep for the next little bit. It's been a long night."

Roy sighed, slipping his shirt back on. "You got that right. The weirdest thing happened to me tonight. When I was getting back from the grocery store, these guys were harassing someone in the back alley behind the club-"

"Oh please don't tell me you had a beef with them...you know how I feel about you getting into fights."

"It didn't last long. And they barely touched me."

"And that's why you're bleeding on your arm." She scoffed as Roy covered the bandage with a hand. "Fine. Whatever. Is that person okay? Were they hurt?"

"No. He was doing okay when I showed up. He's really strong though. Threw one of the thugs across the alley like they weighed a pound. It was awesome."

Thea's cell phone began to ring and she picked it up immediately. "Hello? Yes, this is Thea Queen." She paused. "Right. Right. No, I understand. I can come in right away. Thank you. Bye." She hung up. "Well, that was my mom's lawyer. They want to get together now. There's been changes."

"Changes? Is everything okay?" Roy helped Thea with ehr coat. "Your mom's not...you know...being put on death penalty-"

"Oh god no. We just need to go over some questions that she may be asked when we return to court for the millionth time." She wiped a stray tear that fell from her eye. "Crap, I can't have red eyes before going there. I have to be strong."

Roy wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight. "It's okay to cry, Thea. I cry sometimes too."

"Over what?"

"I cry over you. Because you're so damn beautiful and strong and there's not a day that goes by that I wish I were more like you."

Thea laughed into his chest. "You're funny, Harper. Men don't cry."

Roy closed his eyes. "You'd be surprised, actually." He held Thea at arm's length and looked her over. "You look very professional at the moment. And not to mention very sexy."

She blushed. "Oh, stop. Listen, if I don't make it home before dinner, don't wait up for me, okay? I'll probably just get a ride home with Oliver afterwards."

"Your brother's going to be there?"

"Yeah. He shows up when the office isn't busy. Which is fine, all things considered." She kissed him on the lips and smiled. "I'll see you later, handsome."

"Mmm...bye," Roy watched her leave and head towards her car. Once she pulled out of the driveway and down the road, Roy grabbed his hoodie and slipped it on and headed out the back door. Jumping over the fence in the backyard was no problem. It was just getting past the neighbor's German Shepard that was an issue, but luckily he wasn't around tonight.

The streetlight above his head flickered as he waited for his supplier to show up. Of course he was late. This wasn't the first time he didn't show up on time. The Glades dealers weren't to be trusted to be punctual. Especially if they knew they were getting paid big bucks, then they could take their sweet ass time with their delivery.

"Harper! Yo!" An older man stepped out of the darkness, smiling a broad, pearl white smile. "My favorite, yet odd customer. How goes it?"

"Drop the act, Kent. Do you have them?" Roy lowered his voice.

"Geez what are we whispering for anyway? The cops are, like, 15 blocks over. Distress call. Some guy with a gun or something. Robbing a house. Rumor has it that The Hood showed up." Kent smirked at Roy's reaction. "Look man, it's probably none of my business, but you got a real strange addiction to that green guy."

Roy half smiled. "You're right, Kent. It is none of your business. Now give me my goods before I change my mind about paying you."

Kent licked his lips and shook his head. "You're no fun, Harper. Always poopin' on my party..." Kent reached into the big duffel bag that he had draped over his shoulder and pulled out a large box. "Here you go. One order of arrows. You get 30 to start with. Next bunch is going to cost you extra. Where exactly did you plan on hiding them, anyway? Or doing with them?"

"It's none of your damn business what I'm doing with them. And as for where I'm hiding them, I'm stashing them in my dresser."

Kent scoffed and cleared his throat. "Right, because the girlfriend won't find that when she's breaking out the rubber. Hey, I'm joking!" He backed away when Roy took a step forward. "God, you're easy to piss off. That Thea Queen has you spoiled, doesn't she? Where's your fancy car?"

Roy ignored him as he began to walk away. "Whatever, Kent."

"You'll thank me one day, Harper. You wait and see!"

On the walk home, Roy played with the puddles on the sidewalk like a child, seeing if he could jump over them without getting his shoes or jeans wet with mud. At one point, he almost lost the box of arrows and stumbled out onto the road a little bit. A car horn honked andhe saw bright lights headed straight for him. He covered his eyes, and much to his luck, the car swerved around him, just missing him by a foot or so.

Breathing heavily, he stared after the speeding vehicle as it drove down the street, making a sharp turn to the left at the end of the road. "Assholes..." He muttered. "Who the hell do they think they are?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Asshole! Who the hell walks in the middle of the road like that, anyway?!" Jackson yelled, looking at the rearview mirror and watching the probably drunk freak stumble back to the sidewalk. "God, people in Starling City are so stupid!"

"Son, you really need to calm yourself down. Maybe letting you drive was a bad idea-" They drove over a bump and Jackson's father clenched his eyes shut. "Jackson. Take deep breaths."

Jackson gripped the steering wheel so hard that he thought for sure that it was going to break under his own inhuman strength. Breathing normally helped, but this city, these lights, this unknown territory was getting on the last nerve he had. Derek had told him before that the longer he went without finding a pack, the more he was going to lose it. He felt very close to turning on his father, but somehow or another he managed to get his heartbeat and breathing under control.

"Sorry. I'm just in a sour mood tonight. Where's the new house?" He asked, glancing at his dad. "Is it nice?"

"I think you'll like it. Your room is the second biggest in the house. The first being your mother's master bathroom," he chuckled and this made Jackson calm down even more. "Make a left up here and then a right. Yup, up there. See that house with the sun roof? That's ours. Second most expensive house in the city. Can you guess who owns the most ex-"

"Dad seriously, do we have to boast or brag about who owns the most expensive house in the city? If I say the Queen's own the most expensive house in Starling City, will I hear a hint of jealousy in your voice?" He hid his smirk as his father muttered under his breath and got out of the car. Their house was a bit larger than the one in London, but it wasn't as fancy. It was a two story house with well over 20 windows, a double garage, a pool house, a basketball court, and from what Jackson could see, there was a small field in the backyard with two nets on either side of it. "Are those..."

"Lacrosse nets? You betcha, kiddo. Do you like it?" His father playfully punched him on the shoulder. "I don't know if the private school here has a lacrosse team, but you could always check into it when you go to school tomorrow. Sound like a plan?"

Jackson nodded, stepping into the new house behind his dad. "It's...nice. Very bright. It smells like bleach." He sniffed the air and cringed. Bleach and the faint hint of blood. "You didn't buy that house on the market that recently had a murder, did you?"

"Um...they had an incident here in this house a few months ago. Something to do with a criminal. They eventually got busted by The Vigilante. I told you about him, right?"

"Yeah. On the plane. Can anyone catch him at all? I mean what's one man against the entire Starling City police force?" Jackson stepped into the kitchen, amazed by how much smaller it was than the old house they had back in both London and in Beacon Hills.

"Hmm true. I guess he just wants to remain anonymous. I would too if I wanted to continue my crusade of killing people."

Jackson let his mother kiss his cheek and she began chopping onions again. Killing people. They moved into a city where there was a psychotic murderer who thinks he's killing in the name of justice. Lovely. As if living in a town filled with teenage werewolves wasn't bad enough. Now life had to throw a vigilante who used a bow and arrows to murder people.

"I'm gonna go up to my room and get a good night's sleep. School tomorrow and all," Jackson rushed out of the kitchen before his parents could say another word. He wanted to Skype with Danny, but when he went upstairs, his computer wasn't hooked up and his laptop was nowhere to be seen. So he settled for looking through an old lacrosse magazine.

His mind eventually wandered back to that strange boy who looked exactly like him. He read in class once that there's at least 7 people in the world that looked sort of like you. But to have one person that passed for an identical twin was insane. He considered doppelgangers, but it seemed a bit of a stretch. What he did consider, though, was trying to track down this kid and ask him some questions. As to what he'd ask, Jackson had no idea. His mind was drawing a blank and the only thing he could think about right now was sleep.

So that's exactly what he did.

"So you're the new kid, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm Jackson Whittemore." This was the millionth time Jackson had to introduce himself today and it was getting on his last nerve. He could feel himself slowly beginning to turn but he controlled the wolf inside him.

"Cool name. I'm Hershel. Hershel Wade." Hershel fixed his glasses on his nose and sat next to Jackson on the stairs of the school. "Look, I now I might not look like much, but I'm actually the captain of the football team." He beamed and puffed out his chest with pride.

Jackson looked him over. The other teen was nothing but skin and bone. "That poor football team..."

Hershel grunted. "Figured you'd be one of those sarcastic, snotty rich kids. I could tell when you pulled up in that fancy ass car of yours. What is it, a Porche?" He snorted. "My dad bought me a Hummer when I was 16. Best gift I've ever gotten. You look really familiar, by the way..."

Jackson clenched his jaw and continued to eat his lunch. Hershel continued to talk and with each word, his voice got even more and more on Jackson's nerves. He could just rip out this kid's throat now and get it over with. Save him a year of torment.

"Oh, here comes Thea. She'll want to meet you for sure, despite she's dating that lowlife Harper. Thea! Hey Thea! Come meet the new kid!" Hershel shouted over the other students.

Jackson looked up and saw the girl from last night at the club. He choked on his sandwich and quickly got to his feet. "I just remembered that I have to meet my parents somewhere other than here."

Hershel snorted. "Dude, relax. Way to be inconspicuous. Thea's cool. Minus the fact that her brother is a bit of a freak since he came back from that island. But he does throw a mean house party though."

Jackson scoffed, jumping over the railing of the stairs with ease. He knew he had to get away from Thea. Whoever she thought he was last night, she clearly had a beef with him and he didn't want to get in the middle of whatever it was.

He found himself in what his mother would call "the hard case part of town" which basically was where the druggies, homeless, troubled kids lived or hung out. He looked very out of place, with his school uniform and expensive watch and it didn't even surprise him when all eyes were suddenly on him. He averted his gaze to the gorund, concentrating more on the destroyed buildings. This was where The Undertaking probably took place.

Someone grabbed him and pulled him into an alley. He almost growled when he saw his captor was wearing a red hood. Like his doppelganger was wearing last night. He struggled, which he really didn't have to do since he had inhuman strength, but it gave him the appearance of vulnerability.

"What the hell man? What's your problem?" He shouted as he tried to regain control.

The hooded figure backed away and pulled down his hood. Jackson made a face; it was weird looking at someone who looked _exactly_ like you. It was kind of like looking into the mirror, only your reflection copied everything you did instead of doing it's own thing.

"Who the hell are you? Huh?" The other teen spat. "Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"Sick joke? You're kidding me, right? I'm just as freaked out as you are!" Jackson shoved the boy off of him and straightened his jacket. "My name's Jackson. Jackson Whittemore."

The doppelganger stared for a minute or two before answering. "Roy. Roy Harper. Now do you mind telling me why the hell you look like we've came from the same sperm?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Wait...so you're Harper? The Roy Harper? You date Thea, right?" Jackson raised his hands in defense as Roy approached him. "Whoa, chill. Some guy at school mentioned she was dating you. Hershel Wade?"

Roy scoffed. "Oh. Him. He's all talk just because he's the captain of the football team. Their crappy team hasn't won a single game in 15 years. He's full of it. Kind of like you are."

"Excuse me? I'm full of it?"

"Well, yeah. Aside from Thea, all you rich kids are nothing without your expensive cars and your shopping sprees and your weekly one grand allowances. You're all the same."

It was Jackson's turn to scoff. "Right. Right. Because it's our fault that we're born into a rich family. Well guess what, you oversized nosebleed. I'm adopted. I didn't get to choose who took me in and gave me a home. So if I were you, I'd keep your big mouth shut before I shut it for you."

Roy glared at him. "You've got balls, that's for sure. You're like me. Brave. Cocky. But you're a dick so I guess that's where the similarities end." He picked up Jackson's backpack and handed it to him. "Come on. Let's get out of here before you get mugged or knifed or all of the above."

They walked into a diner and sat at the furthest booth in the back, where no one could see them together. The waitress who took their order looked a little caught offguard as she took their order, glancing at either one of them as they told her what they wanted. She even glanced back over her shoulder as she walked away, amusement still on her face.

"She was totally undressing you with her eyes, dude. No joke, if this was around closing time and you were her only customer, she'd take you there and then. Probably on one of the tables. If you're lucky, on the counter."

"You're a sick fuck." Jackson couldn't help but grin at Roy. "You know, you're not half bad. I expected you to be my evil twin or something. You what they say about doppelgangers, right? They're polar opposite from yourself?"

Roy popped open his can of coke as the waitress handed them their drinks. "I thought the exact same thing. But I'll settle for my doppelganger being filthy stinkin' rich. You won't hear me complaining."

Their food came to their table shortly after, as well as their bill. Jackson watched as Roy searched his pockets for money, popping a handful of fries into his mouth. Roy's face turned red when all he pulled out were two dimes and a coupon for the bus.

"Um...I don't have any money to pay for this..." He shoved the coupon back in his pocket. "I'll be needing this though. I'm going over to Thea's later for the night. Got no way to her place."

Jackson shook his head. "Look. I got this, okay? This meal's on me. It's the least I can do for my poor, broke doppelganger friend."

"Oh, you're too kind." Roy rolled his eyes. "Look, I know this whole situation is awkward and all-"

"Well that's an understatement..."

Roy half scoffed, half laughed. "Well I take back what I said earlier. You interrupt. That's another thing we have in common."

"But that's where the similiarities end," Jackson took a sip of his milkshake.

"You're catching on. You're a smart cookie, Jackson. Anyway, I know this situation is awkward, so I'd appreciate it if you kept all this on the down low. My girlfriend doesn't need any more shit to worry about. She's got enough on her plate as it is."

Jackson nodded. "Got it. What if I have a class with her? Kind of hard to avoid her then."

Roy shrugged. "Drop out of that class. Drop out of school. Hell, I don't know. Just don't let her see you. I may be the better looking out of the two of us, but she'll know you're not me...if that made any sense whatsoever."

"Right...so I'll just drop out of school. That'll go over well with the parents..." Jackson laughed. "It'd be interesting to see what life is like in your eyes, though. Experience what you go through everyday."

"What I go through everyday? Geez, Jackson, you make it sound like I'm homeless or something. I'm far better off than most people here in The Glades. I have a roof over my head. I sleep in a bed. I shower in a proper shower. I have a job. Some people around here don't have that same opportunity. And I never take that for granted."

Jackson watched Roy for a moment. "You're right. I'm sorry. Sometimes I don't think before I speak and that gets me in a hell of a lot of touble sometimes."

Roy smirked. "You did make a good point though. It would be interesting to see what life is like in each other's eyes. Plus I want to be rich for a day. Do you roll in money? Bathe yourself in it?"

"Okay, now you're getting a little too ahead of yourself. I don't do either. I do, however, spend it and buy nice things. Like a new Porsche. Brand new. Still has that new car smell."

Roy groaned. "Ugh man...okay. How does this sound? We switch places until the end of the week and then we switch back. Oh and if we do switch places, when it comes to my girlfriend, she is off limits, you understand me?

"Thea? Oh hell no. She's one of the few women in my life that actually scare the shit out of me."

"That makes the two of us. So are we in an agreement? Switch places until Saturday?" Roy stuck out his hand for Jackson to shake. Jackson hesitated before gripping the other boy's hand and giving it a shake.

"Agreed."


	4. Chapter 4

They went back to Roy's place to change. Much to Roy's surprise, Jackson's clothes fit him perfectly. Right down to the same shoe size. He marveled at his new makeover in the mirror, enjoying the feeling of expensive material brushing against his skin. Jackson, however, looked like Grumpy Cat as he just sat on the couch tugging at the collar of his shirt every ten seconds.

"What's the matter with you? Don't like what you're wearing?" Roy tied his shoelace and sat on the chair across from Jackson. "My clothes are comfortable so I don't know what you're being all pissy for."

"I've seen your wardrobe while I was in your room. You have, like, two hoodies, a leather jacket and three shirts. One of them being your work uniform. And don't even get me started on your lack of jeans and footwear."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Look, if you're going to be me for the next few days, you need to drop the Ken doll act. Roy Harper doesn't care about his looks. Except my hair. Always put extra time into doing your hair."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Right. The hair. Can't forget the hair."

"I don't wake up with perfect hair, you know. It's high maintenance. Now here's my cell phone. The only people who ever call are Thea, maybe the occasional cop or two, and the Vigi-" Roy froze, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else. "So even if it says Blocked Call on the screen, still answer it. Are we clear?"

"Clear as mud. You might as well take mine. Everyone from back home are always calling and texting, so you'll spend the majority of your nights either texting or Skyping with them. Oh and my best friend Danny is gay so if you're homophobic or anything, now is a good time to tell me."

"I don't care what he is. It doesn't bother me. So we're good? Got everything? Is there anything else I should be made aware of before we pull a Parent Trap?" Jackson shook his head. "Cool. Okay. So I guess we're ready to switch places?"

"I guess? Oh, can you play lacrosse? I'm a huge lacrosse fan."

Lacrosse? What the hell was that? "Um...is that the sport where you got to hit the balls under those things in the ground?"

"...that's Cricket, Roy. Lacrosse is a lot like field hockey. There's nets on either side of the field and each team has to try and score goals."

"Sounds boring. I'm not one for sports. I do like parkour though-"

"Fascinating. Look, I need to make the lacrosse team at school. It's the only way I can visit my old hometown if we win regionals. So don't screw it up, huh?"

Roy scoffed as he was handed the keys to Jackson's Porsche. "I need your license too. Unless you want a police record around here. Not that it matters anyway. If I'm caught speeding, they'll probably think the license is fake and still write it down on mine."

Jackson snorted. "That would be funny. You're acting as me, but you still get busted. Oh...and watch the paint job."

"I'll try and remember that. If I crash and break my neck, the paint job will be the first thing I'll worry about. Now get out of my house before Thea comes home and complains you're not doing anything useful to society. Go plant a tree or something."

Roy left his home and walked back to the school without getting caught. The Porsche was beautiful, small but sleek and brand spanking new. His fingers twitched like they normally did when he knew something was valuable enough to steal. Of course technically he wasn't really stealing it. It was his for the remainder of the week. So was Jackson's money. All that money...

A bell awoke him from his daydream. Looking up, he saw that the bell had rung and students were pouring out in a hurry, laughing and pulling out their smokes and cell phones after a long day of school. Thea was among the crowd, but luckily she wasn't smoking. He would've went straight up to her and smacked the cigarette right out of her hand.

Before he could be caught, he climbed into the car and started it up, letting the engine rumble. Jackson was right. The new car smell was still there as he breathed in deeply. Revving the engine again, Roy pulled out of the parking lot and followed the directions Jackson had given him, and drove to his new home.

"Jackson? Is that you sweetie?" A female voice sang out. Roy assumed it was Jackson's mother, singing out to him from the kitchen. He composed himself, giving himself a mental pep talk before going in to greet his "mother".

"Yeah? You rang?" Roy cringed. He wasn't used to this. His own mother hasn't been around for years. Seeing a mother like figure standing before him was making him rather nervous.

"Your father called from work and said he won't be home until late, so it looks like it'll just be me and you this evening. We're having chicken. Sound good to you?"

Roy shifted from foot to foot nervously. "Um...yeah. Delicious." He flinched as the woman placed a hand over his.

"Jackson? Are you okay, sweetheart? You seem...different."

"Huh? Me? Different? Nope. I'm the same old Jackson Whittemore. That's me. Jackson!" Roy mentally slapped himself in the face for being so stupid. Way to give himself away.

But luckily, his pretend mom didn't seem to notice. "I know you're a little exhausted and school isn't going as well as you'd like it to be, but things will get better. They will. You just need to give it some time." She smiled, kissing his forehead. "Go get washed up. Dinner will be ready in a few."

Roy shuffled out of the kitchen and upstairs, peering into all the open doors to see which room belonged to him. Or Jackson. Once he found it, he slipped inside, closing the door behind him. Could he actually do this? Pretend to be someone else for 4 days? Jackson may look like him and vice versa, but they were both different on a lot of levels. Jackson was a cocky asshole. Roy was cocky but not to such an extreme level. There were many differences between them.

Jackson's laptop lit up and a caller ID lit up the screen. It read "Scott". Maybe a friend from London? Didn't Jackson say he lived somewhere else before that? Roy shrugged and sat down in front of the computer, clicking Scott's name. A boy about his age showed up on the screen, dark hair glistening with water and a towel draped around his shoulders.

"Jackson! Lydia only just told me now that you're back in the US. Starling City? Risky move, dude. Literally."

"Uh..." Roy cleared his throat. "Yeah. I know. With that Vigilante and all. Crazy, huh?"

This boy, Scott, Roy assumed, shifted in his chair and scratched his head. "Look, Derek wanted me to ask you if you found a pack yet. It's important that you do."

A pack? What the hell was this guy talking about? "Um...not yet. Still working on that. Hopefully soon though."

Scott sighed. "Maybe Starling doesn't even have a pack. Maybe the nearest one is in the next city over or something. Oh well, you'll figure something out. If worst comes to worst, you could always just get emancipated and come home to Beacon Hills. You have a pack here already."

Roy raised an eyebrow. Was Jackson involved in a gang or something when he lived in Beacon Hills? It sure as hell sounded like it. He'd have to text Jackson later and ask. He didn't want to get caught in the middle of something that had nothing to do with him.

"Um...thanks, Scott. Good to know I have such great friends back home. I have to go now. Homework and all. Talk to you later buddy." Roy closed the laptop before Scott could say anything more, and took a deep breath. Taking out his phone, or Jackson's phone, he dialed his cell phone number.

"Roy Harper speaking," Jackson answered after the third ring. Roy cringed at how weird it was to hear his voice on the other end.

"It's me. How's everything going so far? Is Thea home?"

A pause. "Nope. I just looked out in the driveway and there's no one there. Is she working tonight or something? Or supposed to be going to a party?"

Roy kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed. Whoa. It was surprisingly soft and comfortable. "Uh, no. Not that I know of. Maybe she's just running a bit late. Or maybe she had to pick up a few things at her place. She'll be home soon."

Jackson sighed. "Your house isn't very comfortable, Harper. It's squat and it stinks."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll call my butler first thing in the morning for you." Roy turned the flat screen on and turned the channel on the news. "Look, it's only for a few days. If you want, you could clean my home for me. Save me the trouble of doing it when I get back."

"Ha. You wish. I'm not cleaning anyone's house besides my own. Anyway, I gotta go. A car just pulled up. I'm guessing it's Thea. So if she tries to kiss me-"

"Say you have a cold. Try anything and you're getting an arrow to the knee."

Jackson snorted. "Yeah okay. Where the hell are you going to get an arrow from? Whatever, Roy. Hope you have fun being rich for four days. And try not to spend all my money."

Roy snorted. "Yeah okay. Whatever, Whittemore. Enjoy being dirt poor and working at a club for a living. Try not to get in trouble." Then he hung up.

Laying on his back, Roy looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He had four days to experience the high life. Drive fast cars. Spend ridiculous amounts of money on stuff he, or Jackson, didn't even need. He could wear nice clothes and wear Hugo Boss cologne like he always wanted to. Even if it was just for a few days.

He turned up the tv and closed his eyes, but they weren't closed for long when the announcer began to talk about a break in at Caesar Ltd, a very high end company that developed medicine and drugs for third world countries. He turned up the tv even more, listening in on the story.

"This just in, a shocking phone call from a civilian who claims to have seen a group of black clad people break into Caesar Ltd. The 911 call says that the group went into the building with ease, but what really confused the police is that a pack of wolves came out. Police are at the break in now, investigating the scene for further evidence."

Roy shot up out of bed, grabbing the car keys and slipping on his shoes. He searched his pockets for the red arrow he used to contact the Vigilante, but it was nowhere to be found.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Roy ran a hand through his hair and groaned. The arrow was with Jackson at his house. Plus Jackson didn't even know about the Vigilante, much less know about him working for this modern day Robin Hood.

He pulled out his phone and breathed through his nose, choosing his words carefully as he text Jackson. "Need 2 talk 2 u. Meet me in the alley behind the cafe where we made our switch."

He threw the phone on the desktop and crawled into bed. How stupid of him to even agree to this. Now that he was thinking about it, there were so many dents and holes to this idea that at the time, didn't even occur to him this was poor planning. If the Vigilante needed his help, how was he supposed to know? Jackson wasn't the man for the jump. He was new to the city. He wasn't a thief either. He wasn't strong-

"Jackson! Dinner's ready!" His pretend mother called out from downstairs. "Wash up before you come down!"

"Coming!" Roy called back. He had to get his red arrow one way or another. He needed it in order to contact the Vigilante. Hopefully Jackson got his message and decides to show up when the time comes. But right now, it was time to focus on getting to know his fake family.

Besides, it was the first time he had a home cooked meal made by a mother figure in a long time.


End file.
